Squirrel Hill Psychological Services

Stories of Hope

At Squirrel Hill Psychological Services, we believe that
challenges in life provide tremendous opportunity for growth. We
work with children, teens, adults and seniors to move beyond their
difficulties and make positive changes in their lives.

Gloria’s father had been in declining health for a few years,
and eventually, it became clear that he would need to move in with
Gloria and her family. Gloria was already struggling to balance her
work and family responsibilities, and this situation made that task
even more difficult. When she called AgeWell Pittsburgh, a local
resource for senior care and advice (and of which our parent agency
is a collaborative partner), they suggested she attend the
caregiver support group.

When Gloria came to the support group, she found the therapist had good suggestions for dealing with the family stress and also picked up a number of strategies from her fellow group members.

Gloria found it comforting to interact with people facing
similar issues as hers.

She has learned to balance all of her responsibilities well. She
continues to attend the support group for ongoing emotional and
practical support and is now often able to offer her advice.

Divorce introduces dramatic change into children's lives. Most
children have a hard time during a divorce transition. Some, like
Chelsea, suffer more serious, psychological problems and can
benefit from professional help.

Chelsea's change in temperament led her to Squirrel Hill Psychological Services where her therapist helped her work through the emotions brought out by her parents divorce.

Chelsea is a 13-year-old whose parents divorced a year ago. She
had always been a top academic performer, loved to play soccer and
was very social. Much of that changed shortly after the divorce.
She neglected her friendships and extracurricular activities that
she used to enjoy, and grew increasingly anxious about her grades,
spending most of her time in her room studying. Chelsea's change in
temperament led her to Squirrel Hill Psychological Services where
her therapist helped her work through the emotions brought out by
her parents divorce. Chelsea is now her "old self" again.

There are many myths about step families, including the fantasy
that two separate families effortlessly "blend" together to form
one happy family unit. It takes time, patience and commitment.
Often times families can benefit from professional help.

When Elaine married Alan, she also became a step-parent to his
three children. His teenage son, Jeremy, did not adjust well
to having a stepmother and they were also concerned that Jeremy's
disrespect might influence his eight-year-old twin sisters. They
turned to Squirrel Hill Psychological Services for help.

Jeremy eventually began showing more respect to his stepmother.

The counselor offered a number of recommendations to the couple,
worked with Elaine on developing realistic expectations of her new
role and helped the couple decide how to handle discipline in the
household. She also suggested holding family meetings periodically
to let all of the family members air their concerns. Elaine and
Alan learned how to present a united front to the children and work
as a parenting team. Their children were also referred for therapy
to ease the family's transition. Jeremy eventually began showing
more respect to his stepmother.

Squirrel Hill Psychological Services, in collaboration with Quest Therapeutic Camps, is offering a summer day camp program and an ongoing after school program for children with mild to moderate emotional challenges.
Quest Camp 2017 is looking for interns and trained staff.